Subscribe toOpera Today

Recently in Recordings

This Winterreise is the final instalment of Matthias Goerne’s series of Schubert lieder for Harmonia Mundi and it brings the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition, begun in 2008, to a dark, harrowing close.

We see the characters first in two boxes at an opera house. The five singers share a box and stare at the stage. But Konstanze’s eye is caught by a man in a box opposite: Bassa Selim (actor Tobias Moretti), who stares steadily at her and broods in voiceover at having lost her, his inspiration.

Richard Strauss may be most closely associated with the soprano voice but
this recording of a selection of the composer’s lieder by baritone Thomas
Hampson is a welcome reminder that the rapt lyricism of Strauss’s settings
can be rendered with equal beauty and character by the low male voice.

Bernarda Fink’s recording of Gustav Mahler’s Lieder is an important new release that includes outstanding performances of the composer’s well-known songs, along with compelling readings of some less-familiar ones.

This live performance of Laurent Pelly’s Glyndebourne staging of
Humperdinck’s affectionately regarded fairy tale opera, was recorded at
Glyndebourne Opera House in July and August 2010, and the handsomely produced
disc set — the discs are presented in a hard-backed, glossy-leaved book and
supplemented by numerous production photographs and an informative article by
Julian Johnson — is certainly stylish and unquestionably recommendable.

Recorded at a live performance in 2012, this CD brings together an eclectic
selection of turn-of-the-century orchestral songs and affirms the extraordinary
versatility, musicianship and technical accomplishment of mezzo-soprano
Magdalena Kožená.

Once I was: Songs by Ricky Ian Gordon features an assortment of
songs by Ricky Ian Gordon interpreted by soprano Stacey Tappan, a longtime
friend of the composer since their work on his opera Morning Star at
the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Alfredo Kraus, one of the most astute artists in operatic history in terms of careful management of technique and vocal resources, once said in an interview that ‘you have to make a choice when you start to sing and decide whether you want to service the music, and be at the top of your art, or if you want to be a very popular tenor.’

In the thirty-five years immediately following its American première at the Metropolitan Opera in 1914, Italo Montemezzi’s ‘Tragic Poem in Three Acts’ L’amore dei tre re was performed in New York on sixty-six occasions.

Known principally for its two concert show-pieces for the leading lady, the success of Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur relies upon finding a soprano willing to take on, and able to pull off, the eponymous role.

It would be condescending and perhaps even offensive to suggest that singing
traditional Spirituals is a rite a passage for artists of color, but the musical heritage of the United States has been greatly enriched by the performances and recordings of Spirituals by important artists such as Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks, Florence Quivar, Kathleen Battle, Harolyn Blackwell, and Denyce Graves.

As a companion to their excellent Great Wagner Singers boxed set
compiled and released in celebration of the Wagner Bicentennial, Deutsche
Grammophon have also released Great Wagner Conductors, a selection of
orchestral music conducted by five of the most iconic Wagnerian conductors of
the Twentieth Century, extracted from Deutsche Grammophon’s extensive
archives.

What better way for Masonic brothers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emmanuel Shikaneder to disseminate Masonic virtues, than through the most popular musical entertainment of their age, a happy ending folktale that features a dragon, enchanting flutes and bells, mixed-up parentage, and a beautiful young princess in distress?

Yes, even classical artists can have
labels which exist predominantly for the distribution of their own creative
efforts.

For well over a decade Nightingale Classics recorded for posterity the
voice of superstar (at least in Europe) Edita Gruberova, in complete sets of
the operas with soprano roles which best display her amazing coloratura
agility and crystalline high notes. Now a new distributor in the US seeks to
bring renewed attention to these sets, and three will be considered here:
I Puritani, La Fille du Regiment, and Die
Fledermaus.

Fabio Luisi's career as a conductor has grown rapidly since he led this
I Puritaniin 1994. His efforts here
are compromised by rather distant sound and the proficient but not
convincingly idiomatic reading of the Bellini score by the Munich Radio
Orchestra (the ensemble for all three recordings discussed here). neither of
the principal male leads offers anything distinctive. Justin Lavender manages
the high notes for Lord Arturo, but not with much impact, and his tone
throughout his range lacks beauty. Ettore Kim's Sir Riccardo has more
personality, if not any more basic attractive vocal quality.

This set then truly serves as a showpiece for Gruberova, raising the
question of whether a highlights CD might have been a better option. She has
full command of the role's demands, and that plaintive aura in her middle
range works well for Elvira, who spends most of the opera despondent, when
not insane. A better cast overall can be heard on the recent DVD release
(reviewed on OperaToday), and though Gruberova is fresher,
obviously, on this recorded set, seeing her in the role does make a greater
impression.

Marie in La Fille du Regiment has
two sad-tinged arias as well, despite the comic setting, so Gruberova gets to
display most of finest attributes in this set, probably the best overall of
the three. The contribution of Deon van der Walt as Tonio must be respected
here; this role, currently a favorite for Juan-Diego Florez, requires a
charismatic tenor with reliable high Cs for this great "Mes Amis" aria, and
van der Walt delivers, if without Florez's greater tonal allure. The rest of
the cast and Marcello Panni's conducting all keep the fun feather-light.

The best cast for any of these releases distinguishes the Die Fledermaus set. Gruberova 's classic
Adele supports Thomas Moser as Eisenstein and Adrienne Pieczonka as
Rosalinde. Friedrich Haider conducts capably. However, two mitigating factors
make a whole-hearted endorsement unlikely. First, once again, a DVD with
Gruberova is available, with an even finer cast: Wiekl, Popp, Fassbaender,
recorded in Vienna, and also reviewed here on OperaToday some time ago.
Second, some may object to all the dialogue being cut, while others may be
grateful. very few, one suspects, will be glad to have the third act comic
relief character of Frosch lead us through the opera's story with monologue
interludes, in German (of course). Translations are included in the libretto
(all these sets have good booklets, although the English translations of the
essays have an unintended comic quality).

So for those who have a taste for Gruberova and an indifference, if not
dislike, for DVDs, the Donizetti and Strauss sets can be recommended. Fans of
the Bellini score should look for an alternative, with sopranos as great as
Callas, Sutherland, and Sills all still available on disc.